Luisah

<<Real Silver has a stamp on it 925>.

Thank you. That's helpful.

<<Hope you enjoy contributing to the turkish economy>>

I'll be doing that soon.

tcreath

I forgot to mention above, but we also purchased some lovely fruit wines from Sirince as well. If you will be near Ephasus, Sirince is a lovely little town and absolutely worth a visit. The fruit wines are nice and not as sweet as they sound, depending on your tastes. The shop owners are more than happy to give you sample after sample of their fruit wines. We purchased mulberry and quince wines and both were very good and unique, as I don't think I've seen Turkish wines for sale in the US.

And one other thing I bought that I, admittingly, was a little embarrassed to admit was a beautiful ceramic hookah. We do not smoke, but many of the hookas are very pretty and handpainted, making them a unique item to bring home.

Overall I was quite impressed with the selection of handicrafts that Turkey had to offer and only wish I had more money to spend. In addition to the pillowcases I mention above, there were also lots of beautiful tableclothes and table runners and various other textiles. The metal objects were also very nice, as were much of the pottery. We brought home a few plates that we have hanging in our dining room.

Tracy

brotherleelove2004

If you're looking at 'real' old jewelry, don't expect to see any stamp on it.

trigo

What is Turkish Delight and how do you differentiate between the good stuff and not?

tcreath

trigo, here is a description of Turkish Delight: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_Delight. It's basically a sweet candy product that can be found all over Turkey. I admit that at first glance it doesn't look too appealing but it can actually be really good.

All Turkish tourist shops seem to sell it pre-wrapped in celophane boxes. I brought some of these home as gifts and they weren't very good. You will see shops around Turkey (I saw quite a few in Istanbul) that seemed to specialize in Turkish Delight; these are the places to go. They will have samples so you can try before you buy. I purchased my hazelnut Turkish Delight at Haci Bekir on Istiklal Street in Istanbul.

Tracy

dfr4848

Greece - products made from olive wood; glass objects (vases, bowls etc) made from a very unusual old glass infusion process (Fira, Santorini); and we found some very nice well made jewelry in Plaka & Monastraki areas of Athens, and Nafplio; leather goods made by The Poet, Stavros Melissinos, at his store in Plaka "Melissinos Art"

dfr4848

PS - I'd suggest skipping liquor, wine etc if you live in a large city. We hauled several bottles back with us only to find one of our larger liquor stores at home not only carried the exact same brands, etc, but were cheaper!!

otherchelebi

The only way you can tell good Turkish delight is by the brand. Traditionally, the famour brand is Haci bekir, with shops at Sirkeci and Istiklal.
There are two basic kinds, the larger piece softer ones and the smaller and more dense ones. You can get them with hazelnuts, pistachios, coconut, rose, orange, etc. Locally, the pistachio one is favored more.
The best known modern manufacturer is Divan, a pastry store and cafe chain owned by Koc, the largest conglomerate in turkey. Will probably have better packing and better distribution than Haci Bekir.

Both brands should be trusted hygienically and taste wise. The Divan is probably a bit more expensive.

Do not buy at spice bazaar and from open piles. These are lower quality and the hygien cannot be vouchsafed.
There are some other brands at the airport shops which are not bad also, but the prices are dearer.

AndyT

In Turkey they have nice rugs and pillow cases, also we bought some nice ceramics, if you're in a port town like Kusadasi make sure you don't over pay because they mark up the prices a lot, just pay what you feel is fair.

In Greece we bought several pairs of sandals, there are always shops that have really nice hand made leather sandals. We also bought clothes http://www.kourbelaioanna.gr/ this is the brand we found particularly interesting, and definately something we wouldn't be able to find at home.

Diane60030

I bought my turkish rug outside of Cappadoica and had it shipped home. Tailored lamb skin coat was a great buy as well.

For general give away things I liked the woven bookmarks. They are unique.

The Turks are very big into tea. So a set of tea glasses and maybe a tea kettle.

There is a variety of ceramics in the style of the region.
Beautify table cloths and runners.
I bought a seashell candle holder in greece and a glass one in Turkey.

LongLegs

Having just returned, I can attest to purchasing three things in Turkey that I NEVER thought I would purchase or even consider beforehand... but did and was happy about it...

1. Genuine Fake Watches

2. Genuine Fake Hand Bags (purses)

3. Genuine (not fake) spices


First, the spices.

I found THE guy, the one and only spice merchant that was so honest, he offered to have his wife wash our clothes. Not that we smelled or anything, he just wanted to show us that he could be trusted, I guess.

No matter, his spices, teas, and such were vacuum packed right on the spot using a cryovac machine that sucked out all the air so the red pepper flakes, for example became hard as a rock within the clear double thick vinyl bag.

Note: Going through customs was easy, as I claimed my 11 bags and as long as I was not bringing in seeds, it was cool.

Some of the spices were amazing, such as his "famous" 14 herbs and spices that upon sprinkling onto anything, it becomes a YUM delicacy. The mint tea or the Love Tea, as he called it are unbelievable. My favorite is Lemon Salt, that has infused lemon into every salt crystal. Anyway, he ships when I need more.

The Genuine Fake stuff is so much fun to oogle in little shops that are crammed with fawning women. Granted, I did not want to support this trade of copying famous designers, but did want to bring home a few "wow" presents. So a couple of purses and a couple of watches for all under $3 hundred proved to be a wild ride. I'm embarrassed to say that I don't know a Prada from a Panda but the designs and quality are superb in Turkey. Please don't send me scolding replies.

In Greece, the cotton and linen shirts in white and blue colors are easily a hit. While I didn't have time to shop everywhere, I did purchase a couple of beautiful gold bracelets for my wife, which were genuine 14K and while not bargains based on grams of weight, the designs and workmanship were superb.

Okay, I'm going to have a little Feta, some ripe tomatoes, cucumber, onion, olives... with olive oil and sprinkled with some fine, mountain Greek oregano. My genuine fake watch says it's time for a glass of wine, too, while I whine about how fast my trip came and went.

LL

brotherleelove2004

One of my favorite photos taken in Turkey is a sign pointing to a jewlery store in Bodrum that says, "Genuine Fake Watches".

chamberlain999

I've often seen tourists crowding around fake designer bag vendors in Venice and checking out fake Rolexes in Turkey and China.

I'll bet they would think twice about this if they knew that when travel through UK, USA, and especially France and Italy, there is a policy of inspecting passengers for counterfeit goods alongside the normal checks for drugs and contraband. Some countries are strictly enforcing laws for importation of such counterfeits with penalties that can go as high as €300,000 or 3 years in jail for serious offences.

Besides the risk of violating customs laws, who would want to risk being seen as the type of person to wear a fake Rolex or carry a counterfeit Louis Vuitton bag? The difference is glaringly obvious to anyone who owns the real thing.

Bagbabe53

We were in the Grand Bazaar at Kusadasi after touring Ephesus. We found good deals on inlaid wood and mother of pearl boxes of every size including the backgammon set my husband bought. I found a a small one with an intricate Star of David for a Jewish friend. Also found some lovely and inexpensive "girl friend gifts" to bring back, such as small embroidered and beaded wristlet purses and earrings. Depends on what you want and need.

One exception: the lovely scarves in Turkey and Greece were more expensive than similar ones I bought at an open air market in Paris.

Bought small reproduction icons at good prices at museum shops, much better than other vendors.

andy

to the lady who said u can tell the real LV from the fakes..heads up---the Chinese are making them...They are EXACT replicas at a fraction of the price and come complete with the serial numbers and papers...

I got a gorgeous LV bag in Florence that was a copy and a real LV bag on a trip to Portofino..Side by side, everything is alike...different styles but all a person has to do now is print off the LV website and carry it around..,it is so detailed YOU will see that u cannot tell the fakes from the real...

ira

Hi LL,

>when I was in Morocco I bought all this Saffron and brought it back. BUT, I didn't open it until a month later.....<

Keep it in the freezer for about 2 weeks. Kills all the little buggers.

familytravel5

We are heading to Greece in October and haven't been there for 8 years so have my list ready! Mother and father in law go every year and are happy to stock me up but I'm glad I get to go and pick out my own treasures! Must buys in my opinion are
d
-greek honey- (doesn't taste ANYTHING like any honey we buy here)
-pastelli- similar to our sesame snacks except 100 times better as it's thicker and soft instead of crispy...made with the yummy greek honey
- mountain tea branches - greek mountain tea ...similar to chamomile but better. break off a few pieces of branch and boil with water for a few minutes
- gold jewelry- last time there I bought a gold chain and cross. Had it appraised when I got home and it was appraised at over double what I paid! They have the most beautiful gold!
- cook books for friends

Bagbabe53

I was in the Greek islands on a small boat cruise, Athens for a couple of days, and also a stop in Turkey at Kusadasi, a port and beach town to see Ephesus. I am a huge fan of museum shops in Europe because there are unique items and usually reasonably priced. I found an inexpensive but lovely necklace for my younger girl at the Acropolis Museum in Athens. I am also religious, as are a couple of friends. In Santorini, I bought a small reproduction icon of St. Irene, the island's patron at a museum shop, and in Patmos a silver cross pendant with semiprecious stones in an artist's studio, plus a smaller one for a friend at another store. In Kusadasi, we shopped the grand bazaar and bargained for some good deals in silver jewelry and inlaid wood boxes. Bought an inlaid wood box with a star of David design and silky lining for a Jewish friend. I found the Turks to be very hospitable too. While my husband was at the wood shop making a decision over a backgammon set, his son took me to a place (probably that of a relative) where I bought small embroidered purses at good prices (again, bargaining) for girlfriend gifts. In Athens I found soaps made with a combo of olive oil and rose water. The Athens airport also has decent duty free shops. I bought aloe lotions, lip balm and other botanical goodies at the Korres boutique there. We also brought back wines from a wine tasting tour we took on Santorini.

Tomatzso

The Istanbul Spice market supposedly sells Saffron in bulk. It is not Saffron - at best it is dried bits of the petal, rather than the Saffron flower stamen (which has the flavour), and at worst it is dyed straw. It will make your cooking taste musty. Real Saffron is packaged in sealed boxes, is expensive, and is worth paying for.

If you visit the market don't buy Saffron, and probably you need to be wary of the quality of the other spices. Perhaps they will start then selling genuine product, rather than worthless, tasteless fakes.

qwovadis

2009 post old resurrected...